Thursday, February 28, 2013

Feets, Don't Fail Me Now

Today's Bizarro requires no analysis or explanation. It's simply a pun illustrated by a very funny picture:
As is his habit, Bizarro's talented creator, Dan Piraro, turned my sketchy idea into a greatly improved cartoon panel by adjusting the viewing angle, and adding just enough background detail. Oh, yes, and actually doing a finished drawing.
I fully expect this cartoon to show up on a certain ridiculous television program and be touted as proof of Bigfoot's existence. After all, how could a cartoonist ever draw such a perfect likeness without a live model to study? Well?

All of our earlier collaborations can be scrutinized for clues to other mysteries by scrolling through this blog's Bizarro Archive

Speaking of the archive, you may know that in addition to writing gags, I've been assisting Dan by coloring the daily Bizarro panels. Before I started, I spent a couple of days looking over his shoulder, slack-jawed, studying his coloring technique. It's not just heave-ho with the old paint bucket.

My very first attempt to ape his style (sorry) appeared exactly two years ago today. Coincidentally, it also featured a fictional simian.

After coloring more than six hundred panels, it's still an enjoyable gig. Not only do I learn something every week by studying Dan's art, and continue to improve my Photoshop skills, but I also get to read the comics three weeks before they're published.

In another few years, I'll be fully vested in the Bizarro pension plan, and can look forward to monthly deliveries of tiny UFOs, pickled eyeballs, and novelty dynamite in my old age. Oh, the perks of working in the cartoon racket!

6 comments:

  1. I'd love to agree it requires no explanation, but I don't get it.

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  2. Hi Vanessa, thank you for commenting.

    Debunk is a verb meaning to disprove or expose a falsehood, exaggerated claim, myth, etc. It was supposedly coined in the 1920s, and I guess it's not a word that's used much anymore.

    In our cartoon, Bigfoot falls out of his (bunk) bed, so he's literally "de-bunked."

    Thanks again for the comment. I appreciate any input from readers.

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  3. I literally laughed out loud. I love word play and De-bunking the myth just cracked me up. Thanks for this one, both you and the guy who tossed you the idea.

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  4. I was with Vanessa, I completely did not see the "debunked" pun until you said it. Facepalm.

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  5. Is that pension plan anything like other freelancer pension plans, aka: starving and dying in poverty?

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  6. JRS, I see you're familiar with the freelance benefits package.

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